With the general aging of population, patients are taking an increasing amount of different medications at different times of the day. Certain places like hospitals or nursing homes, manage the medication of a plurality of patients.
As of today, many issues remain concerning medication of patients. For example, medication must be prepared in advance by either a pharmacist, a nurse or a care giver. The medication must be dispensed to the corresponding patients without mixing the different types of pills or tablets which can sometimes occur due to human error and which can be dangerous for a patient.
Some medication dispensers were designed to assist patients and caregiver in the periodic administration of a plurality of medications. Some of these dispensers are stationary and include a base resting on a surface, such as a countertop or a table. The dispenser includes a plurality of containers mounted to the base, each container corresponding to a specific period of time at which the medications must be administered to the patient. To provide the proper medication at each specific period of time, each container must be individually filled by the care giver or the patient. In addition to increasing the risks of errors in filling the individual containers with the proper medications, the use of such systems is particularly challenging for patients having tremors or imprecise movements, for instance patients suffering from Parkinson's disease.
The use of stationary dispenser also tend to limit the mobility of patients, especially those who require regular medication regimens but who are still autonomous. Indeed, because the medication to be dispensed is comprised in a stationary dispenser, it becomes difficult for those patients to leave the premises where the dispenser is located with the medication to be administered during the period when they will be away. This situation often results in the medication being taken outside of the prescribed schedule or not being taken at all. Alternatively, the patient can be reluctant to leave the premises where the dispenser is located for a relatively extended period of time.
Therefore, there is a need for a medication dispensing system that will overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.